the discovery of this patented technology was by dr. kinjoh phd physics & ee, and our company tsk corporation has funded the research to develop carrier line into usable products. we have a 1 megawatt solar plant in japan using this technology and we have tested on a smaller scale for more than 1 year. our plan is to start manufacturing and distribution march 2013.

this technology can be used for wind power inverter, sound and audio cables, led lights, high power electric line (eliminates the 6-9% power loss from power transmission lines), medical imaging and many other consumer products. this technology will save on the resources used in making shielding for cables and you will need fewer solar panels to create the same amount of power, hence reducing the toxic waste from manufacturing and disposing of panels.

visit the solar decathlon category page!

looking to keep track of team new zealand?

click here to view the previous idea submission from new zealand’s solar decathlon team. for access to the entire archive of new zealand solar decathlon 2011 videos: visit the member page

the roofpod is engineered as a “smart house” rather than a “passive house.” accordingly, it features a number of sophisticated, innovative active systems to regulate and control the lighting, hvac, water systems, and appliances. to ensure optimal performance, the photovoltaic design uses micro-inverters in each individual panel, rather than regular inverters, to prevent shadows that might fall on only a portion of the array from decreasing the total output—as might happen in the city from neighboring building shadows or from leaves and snow. the hvac system is driven by the sun’s thermal energy, using much less electricity from the pv array than would a vapor-compression system.

solar thermal collectors on the solar trellis gather the sun’s heat, making direct use of this often-neglected abundant energy source. the thermal energy runs the adsorption system as well as the radiant floor system for cooling and heating. however, this system has a drawback: thermal energy from the sun cannot be collected when it is dark. therefore, we have designed a unique and innovative thermal storage system using a phase change material (pcm) tank composed of a paraffin and graphite composite. the use of pcm rather than a more typical water-based thermal storage system reduces the space requirement of the tank by half. the pcm tank will also supply thermal energy to the hydronic system, to supply hot water. black water will be collected into a septic tank (though in an actual rooftop installation the black water would be tied into the host building’s system), while graywater will be stored separately. stormwater will also be collected and used for irrigation, along with the graywater.

to integrate all the active systems of the roofpod, the energy management and control system is designed to ensure seamless levels of comfort quality and to regulate energy consumption for maximum efficiency. the integrated monitoring system senses and responds to weather conditions by regulating artificial light levels and controlling exterior shading. sensors collect lighting, heating, and cooling performance data and assemble it in a logger system. a next-generation graphic digital display allows the inhabitants to be aware of the roofpod’s minute-to-minute performance and encourages active energy-conscientiousness and may assist the city with peak load management.

visit the solar decathlon category page!

looking to keep track of team new york?

click here to view the previous idea submission from new york’s solar decathlon team. for access to the entire archive of new york solar decathlon 2011 videos: visit the member page